1. Title, director and release year?
China Revs Up, Chris Schmidt, 2004
2. What is the central argument or narrative of the film?
China will soon be the biggest economy in the world with the greatest number of consumers. If the Chinese people adapt a way of life like current Americans, there is no way to support this increased pollution and use of resources.
3. What sustainability problems does the film draw out?
Population control and overpopulation. Pollution in China from burning coal for electricity and heating houses pollutes the air. There is a need for government regulations on pollution. People not understanding, or caring about the health effects of living in a highly polluted area. There is misinformation of emission standards. The cultural idea that one should own their own car and not use public transportation.
4. What parts of the film did you find most persuasive and compelling? Why?
The fact that there were no government regulations while China was growing economically shows why they were able to grow so fast and do so much harm to the environment. It shows that China did not plan for the future of the environment even though similar things have already happened in other countries. I liked the story of how families consider using bicycles in the city unsafe because there are so many cars, so they buy a car and add to the problem. The story of a family moving from the country to the city in order to better themselves was interesting. The father believed that he was helping his family by moving to a smaller apartment in the city because he was making more money and giving his child more opportunities in the economic world. He did not take into consideration the pollution that he was exposing his children to. He only cared about making money, not his own health. This shows that even consumers put money before their own health. I found it very interesting that pollution from China is found in the air on the west coast of the US.
5. What parts of the film were you not compelled or convinced by?
I was not compelled at all by the scenes with people off-roading their jeeps. This seems like such a small part of the population and every time they showed it, there was only one person driving and then a group of people watching. This does not seem like a big part of the problem even if more people do it.
6. What additional information does this film compel you to seek out? Where do you want to dig deeper and what connections do you want to make with other issues, factors, problems, etc.?
The film said how the car industry is good because it provides a lot of jobs, but I would like to see what other jobs were lost because of the car industry. There may be many taxi driver jobs lost due to this.
7. What audiences does the film best address? What kind of imagination is fostered in viewers? Do you think the film is likely to change the way viewers think about and act on environmental problems?
This film best addresses people who are interested in international business and policy. They have a big job in helping China learn from the US in what we have gone through and are going through with environmental control.
8. What kinds of action or points of intervention are suggested by the film?
This film encourages China to enforce more government regulations and cleaning up their industry. It also suggests that China keeps its population under control in terms of individual energy usage.
9. What could have been added to this film to enhance its environmental educational value?
There could have been more information on the farming in China and how the soil is drying up. There also could have been more information on alternative energy sources.
1. Title, director and release year?
China Revs Up, Chris Schmidt, 2004
2. What is the central argument or narrative of the film?
China will soon be the biggest economy in the world with the greatest number of consumers. If the Chinese people adapt a way of life like current Americans, there is no way to support this increased pollution and use of resources.
3. What sustainability problems does the film draw out?
Population control and overpopulation. Pollution in China from burning coal for electricity and heating houses pollutes the air. There is a need for government regulations on pollution. People not understanding, or caring about the health effects of living in a highly polluted area. There is misinformation of emission standards. The cultural idea that one should own their own car and not use public transportation.
4. What parts of the film did you find most persuasive and compelling? Why?
The fact that there were no government regulations while China was growing economically shows why they were able to grow so fast and do so much harm to the environment. It shows that China did not plan for the future of the environment even though similar things have already happened in other countries. I liked the story of how families consider using bicycles in the city unsafe because there are so many cars, so they buy a car and add to the problem. The story of a family moving from the country to the city in order to better themselves was interesting. The father believed that he was helping his family by moving to a smaller apartment in the city because he was making more money and giving his child more opportunities in the economic world. He did not take into consideration the pollution that he was exposing his children to. He only cared about making money, not his own health. This shows that even consumers put money before their own health. I found it very interesting that pollution from China is found in the air on the west coast of the US.
5. What parts of the film were you not compelled or convinced by?
I was not compelled at all by the scenes with people off-roading their jeeps. This seems like such a small part of the population and every time they showed it, there was only one person driving and then a group of people watching. This does not seem like a big part of the problem even if more people do it.
6. What additional information does this film compel you to seek out? Where do you want to dig deeper and what connections do you want to make with other issues, factors, problems, etc.?
The film said how the car industry is good because it provides a lot of jobs, but I would like to see what other jobs were lost because of the car industry. There may be many taxi driver jobs lost due to this.
7. What audiences does the film best address? What kind of imagination is fostered in viewers? Do you think the film is likely to change the way viewers think about and act on environmental problems?
This film best addresses people who are interested in international business and policy. They have a big job in helping China learn from the US in what we have gone through and are going through with environmental control.
8. What kinds of action or points of intervention are suggested by the film?
This film encourages China to enforce more government regulations and cleaning up their industry. It also suggests that China keeps its population under control in terms of individual energy usage.
9. What could have been added to this film to enhance its environmental educational value?
There could have been more information on the farming in China and how the soil is drying up. There also could have been more information on alternative energy sources.